A project worth $400 million was signed between the Indian Government and the World Bank to protect India’s poor and vulnerable population affected by the adverse economic crisis caused by the pandemic. The credit is from the International Development Association of the World Bank.
About the loan
The 400 million USD will help in accelerating India’s COVID-19 social protection response. The funds are to be used to address the following
- To help India move away from a scheme based to more integrated functioning.
- To build an adaptive social protection system through the use of Government’s Disaster Response Funds. This will quickly provide support to excluded groups.
- To create a portable social protection platform. The platform will ensure food, social insurance and cash-support to migrants spread all over the country, especially across state boundaries.
- The fund will support the GoI’s measures to trigger social insurance benefits for the unorganised sector workers and the urban poor.
Background
This is the second operation in a two-tier programme. The first operation worth 750 million USD was approved in May this year. The programme envisages to strengthen government’s capacity to provide coordinated social protection to the vulnerable from the pandemic-led economic shocks.
World Bank on India
The World Bank appreciates the following initiatives of India that were under taken with the credit approved in May 2020
- According to the World Bank, around 84% of poorest households in India received at least one benefit from the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).
- The food delivery under PMGKY according to World Bank was impressive. Around 77.5% of the poorest households received food grins under the scheme
- Under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, almost 80% of the families enrolled in the cash transfer programmes received benefits.
The second credit will help India create a portable social protection platform ensuring food and cash support to the unorganised workers across state boundaries, urban poor and the other poor households.